Chapter 30 Under the Thumb, Can’t Help It

Chapter 30: Under the Thumb

Cheng Ye stared at the garish, scrolling text on his phone screen—that blinding, eye-straining promotional slogan—and felt a deep wave of helplessness wash over him. He let out a soft sigh.

"I give up on you," Cheng Ye said, shaking his head. "Jiang Shang'en, I don't even know what to say to you anymore..."

This isn't just being a one-track-minded idiot or love-struck anymore; this is straight-up bizarre performance art.

Shen Xu, who had been sitting in the driver's seat the whole time, had his curiosity piqued. He tilted his head slightly, shifting his gaze from the road ahead, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever had made Cheng Ye wear that expression.

Cheng Ye noticed his movement and instinctively tried to hide his phone, but Shen Xu's eyes had already swept over the screen that hadn't fully dimmed yet—catching a few words of that already stunning advertisement slogan, even if only partly.

Shen Xu couldn't help it; he let out a soft laugh, quiet but unmistakable in the silent car.

"You sure know how to shop," he commented after chuckling, his tone full of approval, as if encouraging Jiang Shang'en.

"Focus on driving," Cheng Ye said curtly, shoving the phone back into his pocket. He twisted around and looked sternly at Jiang Shang'en, who was still sulking in the back seat over his confiscated electric pig stick, and warned in a serious tone. "Jiang Shang'en, listen to me. Once we get there and see that guy, you'd better not act out! Do everything I say, got it? We're not pig farmers—we don't need an electric pig stick!"

Jiang Shang'en pouted and muttered under his breath, "Got it, got it."

But Cheng Ye could tell from his expression that he hadn't taken it to heart at all. He was just agreeing verbally. After all these years as friends, every time Jiang Shang'en fell into a relationship, he went totally nuts—and this time was no different.

...

Following the address Shen Xu had looked up, the car pulled up in front of a secluded business hotel on the outskirts. The hotel wasn't new, but it had good privacy and looked quite grand—clearly that alpha had decided to hole up here.

"He took my money and then stays in a hotel this nice? Does he have no shame?"

Jiang Shang'en was furious just looking at the hotel, grinding his teeth in hatred.

The three entered the hotel. Cheng Ye led the way, with Shen Xu following at a lazy angle, and Jiang Shang'en clutching his half-empty backpack, staying glued to Cheng Ye's heels as if afraid to fall behind.

Checking the room number, they arrived at the corresponding door. Cheng Ye looked up to confirm and then raised his hand to knock.

The moment the knock sounded, a male voice, dripping with impatience, came from inside, raspy as if just woken up: "Who is it?!"

"Food delivery."

"Food delivery?" Footsteps approached from inside, accompanied by the alpha's grumbling, "Didn't I tell him I'm on a diet? Why would he order me milk tea? So annoying! It must be some clueless person..."

With a soft *click*, the lock was turned from inside, and the door cracked open.

Almost as soon as the door opened, a familiar, loathsome face appeared in the gap—the very alpha fitness trainer who had cheated Jiang Shang'en out of both his feelings and his money.

He looked a bit puffier than before, his face looking puffy and unhealthy, with stubble on his jaw. He wore a wrinkled bathrobe, his hair messy, obviously having just woken up.

When he saw who was standing outside, the impatience on his face solidified, then quickly turned into shock and panic. He recognized Cheng Ye and Jiang Shang'en behind him, and his face drained of color in an instant.

"You... you..." His lips trembled, and instinctively he tried to slam the door shut again.

The moment Jiang Shang'en saw that face, the last thread of sanity in his mind snapped with an audible snap. Veins popped on his forehead. Tight-lipped and silent, he lunged forward recklessly, drawing back his fist to smash into that repulsive face!

"Jiang Shang'en!" Cheng Ye barked, trying to stop him, but it was too late.

However, someone was faster.

Just as Jiang Shang'en's fist was about to meet the alpha's nose, a hand with prominent knuckles, long and strong, reached in from the side and firmly clamped down on Jiang Shang'en's wrist, stopping his forward charge and canceling his punch.

It was Shen Xu.

He had somehow already stepped forward and positioned himself between Cheng Ye and the alpha. One hand locked onto Jiang Shang'en's wrist, and the other nonchalantly propped against the doorframe, completely cutting off the alpha's escape route.

"What are you doing?!" Jiang Shang'en, eyes red with rage, struggled furiously and growled at Shen Xu, "Even Cheng Ye didn't stop me—why are you stopping me?!"

Shen Xu's hold was just firm enough to be unbreakable. Shen Xu didn't even look at him; his eyes calmly swept over the alpha in the room, and he said something that stunned everyone.

"No cameras in there. Go in and beat him up."

With that, he neatly released his hold on Jiang Shang'en's wrist.

Jiang Shang'en: "...?"

The alpha: "???"

Cheng Ye was stunned for a second but quickly caught on. Seizing on the alpha's split-second confusion caused by Shen Xu's words, he shoved the half-open door all the way open with one hand while clenching the other into a fist. With all the pent-up anger and the ferocity of avenging a friend, he slammed his fist square into the alpha's chest!

*Thud!*

A dull sound.

Caught off guard, the alpha let out a muffled grunt from the heavy blow. He staggered backward several steps, then his back slammed hard against the wall with a *bang*, shaking the decorative painting hanging there. He clutched his chest, bent over in pain, his face scrunched up, struggling to breathe.

"Damn it!" Cheng Ye shook his slightly numb wrist and stepped into the room. He looked down at the alpha slumped against the wall like a wreck, his voice icy. "Are you even human? You toy with my friend's feelings, you steal his money—do you wanna die?!"

Already stopped by Shen Xu once and seeing Cheng Ye land the first punch, Jiang Shang'en's smoldering frustration and rage flared even higher. He rushed forward, snatched the alpha by the collar of his bathrobe, and yanked him up a little from the wall, eyes bloodshot as he glared at him:

"Yeah! You rob me blind? Fine! Those stupid protein powder packages I bought, those useless personal training sessions, your crappy membership—I paid for it all willingly! I was happy to be your sucker! But you dare to screw with my feelings?! What do you think I am—an ATM or an idiot?!"

The angrier he got, the more he kicked out, landing a hard blow on the alpha's calf.

"Ah!" The alpha yelped in pain, his legs giving out, nearly kneeling.

Jiang Shang'en, as if finally finding an outlet, threw all technique out the window. While the alpha was still half-crouched on the ground in a mess, he grabbed his hair and started kicking wildly—back, shoulders, butt—anything he could reach, cursing with every kick as if the man were no more than a human punching bag.

"I'll teach you to cheat me! To delete me from your friends list! To run off with my money! Bastard! Animal! You'll die a miserable death!"

Listening to the agonized wails and pleas for mercy, Cheng Ye felt some of his pent-up anger ease. He didn't join in again, just stood with arms crossed, coldly watching Jiang Shang'en beat the man.

After all, this kind of thing was best done by the victim himself.

Watching them fight for a while, Cheng Ye felt like his mouth was missing something. He looked around the room and spotted the table. It was a bit messy—a half-drunk bottle of water, a snack bag, and an ashtray with a few cigarette butts, next to a crumpled pack of cigarettes and a cheap plastic lighter.

Cheng Ye walked over, casually picked up the cigarette pack, and deftly shook one out, putting it between his lips. He hadn't smoked in a while—Shen Xu was strict about it, and there were no cigarettes at home. Watching Jiang Shang'en beat the guy up made his mouth feel oddly restless.

With the cigarette dangling from his lips, he felt around on the table for the lighter, but after a few tries, the lighter that had been right there just moments ago was gone...

Strange, he thought. It was here a second ago. How did it vanish? Had he misremembered?

Just as he was puzzling over it, a small, dancing orange-yellow flame suddenly appeared in front of him.

Cheng Ye froze for a moment, then mumbled a "thanks" through the cigarette, instinctively lowering his head to light it on the flame.

However, just as the tip of his cigarette was about to touch the flame, the warm little flame went out with a *pop*.

At the same time, the cigarette between his lips was smoothly plucked away by two long, slender fingers.

Cheng Ye: "?"

He looked up, baffled, at Shen Xu.

Shen Xu's face was expressionless as he glanced at him, then casually tossed the lighter, along with the cigarette he'd taken from Cheng Ye's mouth, into the nearby trash bin. The entire sequence was fluid and decisive, without a hint of hesitation.

Cheng Ye blinked, smacked his lips, tasting nothing, glanced at the trash bin, and finally caught on.

Oh, he wasn't allowed to smoke.

Fine, he wouldn't smoke then. He pursed his lips but didn't dare say anything. Jiang Shang'en had called him whipped before, though he'd never admit it. Without a cigarette in his mouth, he felt a bit off, restless and empty, but there was nothing he could do.

He shifted his focus back to Jiang Shang'en, resuming his observation of the live show: "Badass Omega Beats Heartless Alpha Into a Pulp."

Gotta say, Jiang Shang'en, who usually seemed timid and tearful, actually packed an unexpectedly solid punch when he really lost his temper.

Whether it was because the Alpha knew he was in the wrong and dared not fight back, or because he was still dazed from Cheng Ye's door-opening punch, or simply because Jiang Shang'en's explosive fury was overwhelming, the whole scene was a lopsided beatdown — impressive.

At first, the Alpha could still let out a few pained cries, but soon he could only curl up and shield himself, mumbling pleas: "Stop it... Shang'en... I'm wrong... For the sake of our old times, please stop..."

Cheng Ye watched with his arms crossed, silently impressed. He used to tease Jiang Shang'en, joking that his build could take on ten Alphas, but that was just a joke. Seeing it in person today, even though the Alpha wasn't fighting back, Jiang Shang'en's reckless, kicking, and punching frenzy was still pretty shocking.

Sure enough, if you truly hate someone, no matter if you're an Alpha, Beta, or Omega, if you want to hit them, you can hit them.

Who says anger can't become force? Look — all that hate just turned into vicious kicks and punches.

Perhaps fed up with being a punching bag, or maybe realizing that Jiang Shang'en wasn't buying his sentimental act, the Alpha, now desperate, jerked his head up. His eyes were bloodshot, a cruel glint flashing across his face, like a boar about to charge.

Then, a thick wave of Alpha pheromones burst out from him, instantly filling the entire room!

He was trying to use Alpha pheromones to suppress Jiang Shang'en, an Omega. Because an Alpha's pheromone suppression over an Omega is innate, especially when driven by strong aggressive intent—its impact on an Omega is immense.

Jiang Shang'en had just been in the middle of a vigorous kick when he was suddenly hit by the malicious, invasive pheromones. His movements froze, and his face turned pale in an instant. It felt like invisible hands clamped around his throat—his chest tight, his breathing labored. His limbs started to weaken. He stumbled back a step, clutching his chest, gasping for air, his eyes full of pain and anger.

"Do you... have no shame?!" Jiang Shang'en forced the words out through gritted teeth, his voice trembling from the suffocation. Using pheromone suppression—a biological advantage—was one of the most despicable tactics, especially between Alphas and Omegas.

Shen Xu, who had been watching coldly from the sidelines, immediately chilled the moment the Alpha released his pheromones. Almost as soon as Jiang Shang'en was suppressed, another, much stronger Alpha pheromone surged from Shen Xu.

The two Alpha pheromones collided violently in the small space, creating an oppressive pressure that made it hard to breathe.

The room was now completely filled with the aggressive, confrontational pheromones of two top-tier Alphas, like a high-pressure tank about to explode.

Jiang Shang'en, being an Omega, bore the brunt of the doubled impact. His face turned from pale to green, cold sweat beading on his forehead. His body trembled uncontrollably, barely able to stand. He had to lean against the wall to keep from collapsing. He could feel his gland throbbing, his Omega instincts screaming at him to flee this dangerous place.

Cheng Ye, as a Beta, couldn't smell pheromones, but he noticed the sudden shift in atmosphere, Jiang Shang'en's instantly ashen face and pained expression, and Shen Xu's sharp, cold glare. He understood what was happening.

"You've got the nerve to use pheromones on him?!" Cheng Ye shouted, breaking the silence of the pheromone clash. Without hesitation, he lunged forward and kicked the Alpha, who had just managed to get to his feet after releasing his pheromones.

"Bam!"

The Alpha was knocked to the floor again, letting out a yelp of pain.

Cheng Ye stood in front of Jiang Shang'en, his face cold, and cursed at the Alpha: "Can't control your pheromones? Then cut out your gland. I should've let Jiang Shang'en bring that cattle prod and zap your ass, you bastard!"

He spun around, yanking open the glass sliding door to the small balcony. Fresh air rushed in, thinning out the suffocating pheromone level in the room.

"Jiang Shang'en, come get some air!" Cheng Ye helped the nearly limp Jiang Shang'en to the balcony. Then he turned back to the Alpha on the floor and snarled, "I know you've got money. Give back what you swindled from my friend right now, or I'm going to give you another beating."

"I... I'll call the police! You broke into my home and assaulted me!"

"Go ahead, call them. Who's stopping you? But I doubt you'd dare, seeing how many people want to beat you up."

When the Alpha threatened to call the police, Cheng Ye actually laughed. It was the first time he'd seen someone walk right into their own trap. He handed his phone over. "I've even dialed the number for you. Do you really have the guts to call? After conning so many people, you still have the nerve to yell about calling the cops?"

Seeing the phone thrust toward him, the Alpha chickened out immediately, refusing to take it. Just as Cheng Ye had thought—actually, it was even worse than he'd imagined. The Alpha had been running his scam across multiple locations: buying secondhand gym equipment that cost next to nothing, tricking people into signing up for memberships, then using his looks to emotionally manipulate them into buying his overpriced fake protein powder packages and ridiculously expensive personal training sessions. If he liked the person, he'd string them along for a while, fleece them for a big score before leaving, then abandon the gym and move on.

Jiang Shang'en wasn't the first to be hooked. The Alpha had multiple hideouts—once he'd bled one place dry, he'd move on to the next.

If it really came to the police, he'd be the first one arrested.

After holding the phone out for a long time without the Alpha taking it, Cheng Ye let out a cold laugh and pocketed the phone. He gently tugged at Shen Xu's sleeve to soothe him.

"Honey, it's not your turn yet. Just sit down and watch." He glanced at Jiang Shang'en, still pale by the balcony, and lowered his voice. "And both of you releasing pheromones—are you trying to poison Jiang Shang'en to death? I'm a Beta, but he's an Omega. Can you tone it down?"

"I already pulled mine back when you opened the window."

Cheng Ye turned and took Shen Xu's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

*Smart guy*, he thought. *No wonder we've been sharing a bed all this time.*

But there was still that clueless Alpha on the floor, who grumbled, "If I give back the money, will you leave?"

"You think you're giving us charity?" Cheng Ye shot back, then added a kick to emphasize. "First, apologize to my friend—you haven't said a single 'sorry' since we came in!"

"I can apologize. I'll even kneel," the Alpha agreed quickly. "But the money—not a single cent."

Author's note: Cheng: Pretends to casually take a smoke / Shen: (Takes away the lighter) Boss, 15k words this week 😀